Channel 4 has secured the rights to screen the Paralympic Games in a historic deal with the International Paralympic Committee for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games and Rio 2016 Summer Games.

The deal, believed to be worth about £7m, includes multi-platform broadcast rights within the UK and will see the broadcaster build on its acclaimed coverage of London 2012 which broke UK viewing records for Paralympic sport and reached 69 per cent of the population.

As part of the agreement Channel 4 will screen over 45 hours of coverage from next year’s Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, the most ever by a British broadcaster, plus comprehensive coverage of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Summer Games, screening a minimum of 200 hours.

London’s unforgettable summer of sporting drama, excitement and achievement draws to a spectacular conclusion with the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The closing festival, called ‘Festival of Flame’ will feature best-selling British band Coldplay performing live on stage with an estimated worldwide audience of 750 million people.

Jon Snow and Krishnan Guru-Murthy present Channel 4’s coverage of the ceremony from the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, which formally draws the curtain on 11 days of sporting competition that have arguably contributed to producing the greatest Paralympics in the movement’s history.